Quite Unlikely
by Scarlet Alapaap
Summary: Meeting for the first time in their college years, Tashigi and Zoro realize that they are different and similar in some ways.
1. Senior Year is Finally Here

Hello, . It's been a while. :)

**Disclaimer: **One Piece is not mine.

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Today marks the beginning of a new term, Tashigi thought as she walked towards the entrance of her school. She was on her final year of college at last. Not that she was held back for a year or something; if anything, she was pretty responsible, never missed any of her classes, never missed a requirement, and the teachers trusted her. The thought of finally saying goodbye to formal education excited her, but at the same time it terrified her. She was young, full of ideals, and fresh out of the oven. So was everyone else who would graduate this school year, she mused, scoffing.

Sometimes she would walk around town by herself and let her thoughts wander about her future. Would she land a job that paid well and was fulfilling? Would she end up as a corporate zombie or a starving freelancer? Would she even land a job at all? Would she study further, and what course, if ever she did decide to pursue further studies? Tashigi liked to think that people didn't realize how many doors were there for everyone to open and that was a problem. There were too many doors to open, too many options to consider when her brain could only register so much. The first time she talked to her guardian about it was also the last time she opened up that topic at home.

"Sometimes I wonder where I'll end up after all this studying." Tashigi didn't mean to say it aloud, but before she could catch herself from speaking, it came out like vomit.

Her guardian, Smoker, snorted. She didn't know if that meant something bad.

"Before you think about that, focus on what you need to finish, then cross the bridge when you get there." He said, placing the food on the table. "Don't think about it too much or you'll look much older than you really are."

How could she stop herself from thinking about what was up ahead? It was her future, for crying out loud. Tashigi could've gone Gretchen Weiners [1] on her guardian and tell him that he couldn't just tell her to stop thinking too much, but she had great respect for him. He was older and was certainly wiser in so many aspects of life. That moment, Tashigi decided not to think aloud at home and keep her thoughts about her seemingly bleak future to herself.

The school was devoid of students around this time. She came to school a little early, apparently, but she didn't mind. The earlier the better, she always thought. Plus the idea of having the school grounds to yourself even for a short while was kind of a pleasant thought. That way she could listen to whatever was going on inside her head without any chattering in the background.

She sat on the usual bench overlooking the school's soccer field. As much as she hated to admit it, there was a time when she liked hanging out around that area because there was a time in her college life that she was mesmerized by college boys in shorts, with some of them half-naked. Tashigi might look really conservative (she was, actually), but she was a lady, and ladies did enjoy some eye-candies every now and then. But it wasn't the only spot in school she liked. She liked the gym, too. After all, that was where kendo classes were held, and she was a fan of kendo. Not the shallow fan, though. Not the avid, I'll-even-throw-my-panties type of fan either.

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and even if it were a common sight for her, it always left her amazed by its delicate beauty. If she were to compare it to a girl, cherry blossoms were a pretty lass; quite the looker, but not hard on the eyes like most hot girls were, if you stare at them for a long time. And it helped that the color of the blossoms were her favourite colour. She didn't seem like it, but Tashigi had always been attracted to the color pink. In fact the cardigan she had on right now was pink.

The soccer field looked larger without the team practicing there. It also looked peaceful due to the absence of any activity. She thought that the soccer field without the guys (half-naked or not) didn't look as bad. She liked the scene even more.

Today marks the beginning of a new term, Tashigi thought as she continued to stare at the empty field before her. In a few days time, it would be occupied once more. Maybe there would be fresh-looking freshmen who would want to join the team. Maybe she'd lose her interest watching them play. In a few days time, the school would be busy and students would be piling up in libraries of each colleges and departments to do some research and cram for tests. In a few days time, she would be submitting an outline of her final requirement for her qualification to graduate. In a few days time, Tashigi knew that she would say goodbye to the life she had gotten used to after four years of burning the midnight oil just to save her arse from failing.

Her high school instructors told her that college is the so-called real world. It was a lie, she learned as time progressed. She was only about to enter the so-called real world the moment she would get out of college.

That thought terrified her the most.


	2. Say Hello to Kendo

For the most part, Tashigi could say that her college life was tons better than her high school life. She was bashful as a teenager and didn't like to be put on the spotlight. Because of this, she was perceived as someone who needed some fixing. In truth, Tashigi was an introvert. When she was with people she was comfortable with, she talked like any regular kid and related like any regular kid. Her guardian could only snort in response when her teachers pointed out her "low self-confidence" and "timidity." Tashigi appreciated her guardian for not feeling the need to fix her by means of implosive therapy, or something akin to that. He might look like his heart is made of stone, but he genuinely cared for her, Tashigi understood that well. He knew her better than anyone else, after all.

She had bloomed in college, though not as remarkable as most girls did. She was still the quiet lady who preferred her own company over anything that needed her to constantly socialize and mingle with her peers, but the air around her wasn't so awkward unlike in high school, or so she always felt. She had gone past the awkward adolescent stage. Somehow, she began to understand who she was, though not the whole picture. Even up to now, Tashigi liked to think that she was still missing some pieces of a huge puzzle that was her. But she understood herself more, and that made her even surer of who she really was. And she was definitely more than just an awkward, clumsy lady.

She found out that she didn't really care if she ended up living her life as a crummy aunt with fifteen cats for company or if she ended up in the arms of the one she loved (she still cringed at the thought of that) forever. She found out that she was actually good in handling kids, which was surprising because she grew up alone and preferred her own company as a kid. She also found out that she liked dressing up like a girl sometimes. The keyword there was sometimes. But she disliked it greatly when she was treated like a damsel always in need of saving. To hell with all that knight-in-shining-armor horse crap, she had always said. She was a strong woman who could take care of her own, thank you very much.

And as if to prove how strong of a woman she truly was, Tashigi joined the women's kendo team on her sophomore year.

She had been given an invitation to try out for the kendo varsity after Koshiro-sensei, her P.E. teacher and kendo team coach discovered her natural skill in kendo. She said yes in a heartbeat like someone waiting for the love of their life to drop the question after some time. And now, she found herself in the entrance of the school gym, sweating profusely after jogging from her college building just to make it on time. Her bangs were plastered on her forehead, her clothes clung on her form, and there were probably marks of sweat under her armpits, but she cared less of her current sloppy state. She was here now, and she was on time.

While the university's team wasn't really the _crème dela crème_ in the entire city and the entire college kendo varsity association, too, Tashigi was still thrilled to be invited—by the coach no less! She heard that the coach hardly invited students to join the team since most of them would rather play basketball, softball, or any sport for that matter that wouldn't require them to hit anybody intentionally. She also heard that he was a very strict teacher when it came to varsity trainings that even the manliest of men would go home to their mommies screaming they wouldn't want another session with Koshiro-sensei. She snorted at that thought. Koshiro-sensei looked so gentle and peaceful, and his voice wasn't hard on the ears.

Tashigi fought the giggle forming in her throat as her thoughts about being invited to join the team consume her mind. She also tried not to think a bit highly of herself after being personally invited by the kendo coach. She must remain calm and cool. Koshiro-sensei was now looking her way from the door to the training room. She straightened her back and hurriedly walked to the entrance.

"Good afternoon, Koshiro-sensei. I'm here to observe the training." She greeted, nodding her head politely.

The coach smiled. "I'm glad you could come. The women's kendo team are just readying themselves in the changing room. Just make yourself comfortable here."

Oh yes, she would really make herself comfortable here. After all, she was going to be part of this team by the end of this day. Tashigi nodded and proceeded to sit not far from the entrance, placing her knapsack beside her. She couldn't wait to meet her future teammates and see what they were capable of.

She was all smiles on her walk home. Kendo training was really exciting, even though she mostly spent training watching on the sidelines. They were only four members including her. Tashigi thought that the rest of the members were just on leave or absent because of some illness or academic work, but when Koshiro-sensei was done checking the attendance by the time the third member acknowledge her presence, she couldn't help but gape in disbelief. Then again, she remembered that perhaps not every lady her age was encouraged to practice something that was supposed to be a man's sport.

Her teammates were all very interesting. Lola was a big girl who seemed to be looking for a fight all the time with her robust built and towering height, but she was very much of a woman the way she preferred her stuff to be pink (and if she recalled it right, Lola had pink hair, too)—her bag, her _gi_, even the hilt of her wooden sword was sloppily painted with pink acrylic, and how she would ask Koshiro-sensei if he were still interested with the prospect of marrying in his age every now and then during training. Lola would then add that she wouldn't mind marrying someone like him, and would immediately ask their coach to marry her. Koshiro-sensei would only smile. Tashigi found it odd.

Then there were the twins, Mozu and Kiwi. Like Lola, they also looked interesting. Who on earth had squares for hair? She wasn't used to being around twins, so she really found it difficult to tell them apart. They seemed to have inkling with theatre, Tashigi assumed, the way they would pose every time they said something that was supposed to be witty, or landed a successful hit during sparring, or even when conversing with the coach. Koshiro-sensei didn't seem to be distracted with their quirks. Tashigi found it odd.

She honestly didn't know what she preferred more: a teammate who would propose every now and then or teammates who looked and even acted alike. They seemed to be really nice, though. They didn't give her the judging look that most girls do when they meet another of their kind the first time, and they did seem genuinely happy that another student was joining them. Give Tashigi a few days, and she'd be really good buddies with them.

"You don't look so haggard like usual." Smoker greeted from the dining table as he lowered the newspaper to look at Tashigi as she closed the door behind her.

"Remember my previous P.E. teacher, Koshiro-sensei? He invited me to join the kendo team so I went to their practice. I just came from there, actually." She said happily, she swore she could sing that statement to her guardian.

"No wonder." Her guardian mumbled, continuing his reading again.

"Smoker-san, I'm so happy! I finally get to practice kendo again after high school!" She almost yelled gaily, and almost twirled to the kitchen. "It's just kinda sad that the women's team lacked so many members. It would've been nice to see a lot of girls practicing kendo. After all, it's such a beautiful sport!"

"Just be careful not to trip on your own feet while training."

"I promise, I wi—"

Slam, bam, and a dull ka-thunk followed. Smoker could only shake his head in disbelief, though he shouldn't really be in the state of disbelief because Tashigi had always been accident prone. She must really have a tremendous amount of luck to still be alive after all the times she fell, slipped, and almost killed herself with her clumsiness.

"I'm fine, Smoker-san. Just a little dizzy."

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I hope the flow of the story wouldn't confuse anyone. I was trying to go for something unusual like starting the story in the middle, only to be brought back a few years/days/weeks/months ago in the succeeding chapters until it meets up with the timeline for the first chapter.

Anyway, I looked up some information from the One Piece Wiki, and found a few ladies who were considered to be sword-wielding characters, as stated in the Wiki page. Hence, we have Lola, Mozu, and Kiwi. Not entirely sure if Mozu and Kiwi are twins, but if they're not, then I'm sorry for the misinformation.

This fan fiction obviously doesn't follow the actual timeline of the series. It's pretty obvious, but I feel the need to mention it.

And of course, One Piece doesn't belong to me. If it does, all you ZoTash shippers would get what you want.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Training in Hell

I am back from such a busy week (actually, busy weeks is more appropriate) with another chapter. For all those who followed/added story to favorites/read my work, thank you! :)

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**Chapter Three: Training in Hell**

Kendo practice went swimmingly for Tashigi. It was a little _too _swimmingly, actually. Her teammates were all splendid to spar with (much to her delight). After all, they were part of the kendo varsity, so it was expected that they would put up a good spar. She was just a wee bit close to finding training a little less challenging. With only the four of them in the team, it was kind of easy for everyone to note the unique fighting styles of each member, which meant everyone pretty much knew when and where to hit.

"Don't you find training a bit boring?" Tashigi absently said one evening as the four of them stopped at a nearby ramen stall to have some dinner. It took her about a few seconds to realize that her question might be a bit offensive, especially coming from someone who just joined the team a few weeks ago. Her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry!"

Lola only smiled at their new teammate. "Don't worry, Tashigi. All three of us have thought about that, too." She said as she stirred the soup of her noodles. "Especially for me, since I've been with the team since I was a freshman. We don't have so many members."

"And when we go to competitions and win, the party isn't as rowdy and celebratory as the men's team." Mozu said. "I mean, you don't expect a club would actually accept a reservation just for three members, right?" Kiwi nodded in agreement, slowly chewing her noodles.

"And the boys from the men's team are not nice to look at." Lola added, sipping the soup heartily. "Although I wouldn't mind marrying any of them, you know."

"Oh, come on, Lola-onee-san! You'd marry anybody with a—" But before Kiwi could finish her statement, Tashigi interrupted, almost yelling at her teammates.

"No, guys! I don't mean that kind of boring." She quickly added. It took her a few seconds to realize what she had done, and covered her mouth. "I'm sorry I almost yelled at you guys!"

Kiwi and Mozu only gave her confused looks. Lola stared at her blankly. She sighed, breath hot from the soup of her noodles. "What I meant was, the training's become too familiar that I doubt we hardly learn anything new or improve at all."

Her three companions all pondered for a moment, each sporting a contemplative look. "Well, we can't really do anything about it. Not a lot of girls in the university are interested in such a 'manly sport.'" Kiwi emphasized the last two words as if she was mocking.

Kiwi was unfortunately right. They wouldn't be such a sad team composed of four members only if kendo were interesting.

"Oh, but sometimes, Koshiro-sensei lets us join the practices of the men's team." Lola said.

"He does?" Tashigi's ears perked up a little bit. Something told her this could be some new challenge she'd been waiting for. "How are they?" She asked, a little too excitedly for her liking.

The three girls exchanged looks. The kind that made Tashigi want to ask what that meant, but at the same time she could tell it was something she wouldn't want to know. She wasn't so sure if she saw it right, but Mozu gulped, Kiwi shuddered, and beads of sweat were forming on Lola's head. Tashigi decided not to press on the topic. Maybe she'd just see it for herself.

"You want to observe the men's team?" Koshiro-sensei looked at the young lady standing in front of her. Her eyes were twinkling behind her spectacles and she couldn't help but smile widely at her coach. Tashigi hoped she didn't look so excited.

"Think of it as getting to know your prospect rivals through watching them practice." She said, her tone almost high from hoping she'd be allowed to watch the training later. Good lord, she was _so _excited, it's almost embarrassing.

Koshiro-sensei looked at her again and gave it some thought. "You have training later, though."

Tashigi's face changed from hopeful to having her hopes crushed. "Oh yeah, we do."

"Well, it's been a long time since I let the kendo team practice as one. Maybe for the following days, I'd let you join the training."

She swore she could hear a chorus of seraphs and harps playing Beethoven's _Ode to Joy_ in the background. Finally! Something new for training! No more predictive attacks from one another. No more moves that would be easily read by one another. They could maybe show the men's team what they were capable of. Her teammates weren't horrible in wielding their wooden swords. Maybe they would even beat some of them! Tashigi couldn't contain the field of flowers swarming with butterflies forming in her tummy. She was _too_ happy to face a new challenge in her journey as a kendo varsity member. Being the dork that she was, Tashigi bowed, almost hitting her coach's chest with her head, her smile not leaving her face.

"Thank you so much, Koshiro-sensei!"

However, the universe would always find a way to screw reality from ever being close to dreams. After all, if reality were just as sweet and lovely, people would stop dreaming. Tashigi sighed angrily for probably the sixteenth time on her way to her apartment. She just came from training, and for the first time, she was fuming.

"Why the long face?" Smoker asked, pouring hot coffee for both of them.

"Training was hell for once." She muttered, her eyes boring holes on the ceramic mug in front of her.

Her guardian cocked an eyebrow. "Well, isn't it what you've been craving for the past few days?"

And so Tashigi went on ranting about how it wasn't the kind of training from hell she dreamt about.

She told him about the men's team. They were ogling her the whole time during the practice, and it bothered her on so many levels. Even if her back was turned from them while stretching, Tashigi could feel their eyes feeling up her body underneath her _gi_ that she shivered despite the absence of cold. For goodness' sake, she wasn't the only girl in the place! What about the twins? What about Lola? Her teammates told her it was because she was a new face. Well, new face or not, they shouldn't even be ogling her. They should be training for goodness' sake! And to make things more uncomfortable for her, they all looked bulky, like someone from the navy only 10 times more sinister.

"And good lord, Smoker-san! They call me Tashigi-chan! It's supposed to be endearing, but it's... it's so out of character!"

Tashigi never saw herself to be beautiful or attractive, which was why she was alienated with the treatment that the men's team was giving her. Most of the time, she really had no idea if guys were already making a pass on her, which was silly because she could feel if they were leering. Many times she would find herself looking at all the girls that pass by her and wondering how it must have felt like to be called beautiful or to feel like one. Then she would mentally slap herself for thinking such ridiculous thoughts. She would remind herself that she was here in college to study, not to compare with other girls. And certainly not to attract any guys, she would quickly add. That would be so bothersome.

This was one time she felt attractive, though she preferred to keep it stored in the deepest pits of her subconscious. Even up to now, she would shudder at the thought of being desirable even for once in her sophomore year. She would shudder even more for allowing herself to think that she was desirable. It was so out of character!

She hated to admit it, but over time, she found it a tad endearing whenever they called her by her pet name because it didn't suit them at all no matter how many times she had heard them say it. For the most part, she thought it was just downright creepy.

Even up to this day she would fervently deny that the evident attraction displayed by the exaggeratingly appreciative members of the men's kendo team made her feel a little warm and fuzzy inside. Had one saw how those guys looked like, they would understand why she would rather keep that memory a secret. She ended up being friends with them, though.

But there was this one person who made her feel the same way; only it was ten times more the fuzz and warmth (The young lady sometimes felt the need to punch herself senseless every time that memory would visit her head). Tashigi was a college junior then.


	4. His Name is Sanji

A little shorter than the first two chapters, but I hope it's not too short. :)

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**Chapter Four: His Name is Sanji**

There was this really good-looking guy who didn't really tickle her fancy, but was hard to forget because he was a persistent little bastard. She called him that because he was two years her junior even if he was far from little. He towered over her, in fact.

The first time they met was at the college library, during her free period. Apparently, her professor had an important meeting to attend to, so they were given the unexpected free cut every college student loved. But instead of spending her time with friends, Tashigi went to the library to look for some references for her research assignment, which was a very pleasant way to spend free period depending on how one would look at it. Besides, Mozu and Kiwi were probably out somewhere cutting their classes (they told her once that whenever they find the teachers boring, they would sneakily walk out of the back door and head to the nearest amusement centers within the vicinity of the school). Lola, for all her weird obsession about marrying, was (surprisingly) a delight to be with to anyone she considered her friend, but she was probably busy with thesis at the moment. So she really had nothing left but to spend the free period _studying_. How lovely and grand.

The thing she disliked the most about their college library was the ridiculously tall shelves—at least it was tall for her. Luckily, they have those wheeled ladders in their library to make reaching for books a bit easier. Tashigi muttered a curse when she found that the book she needed was hardbound and thick. Almost as thick as telephone directories that people hardly bothered flipping. It was flipping heavy! She grabbed the book and pulled it, only succeeding in sending herself falling off the ladder. A loud thud echoed in her area. The moment her butt fell on hard wood, Tashigi braced herself for the impact of a ridiculously heavy book falling on top of her.

But there was no sound of a book falling and no heavy weight on her torso. She opened her eyes, removed her arms from her face, and looked up to see a blurry, shiny vision of a person holding the book she was just pulling off the shelf a while ago. She just couldn't tell who it was because her glasses flew off somewhere when she fell.

"Uh, thanks, I guess?" She said as she dusted herself off. Tashigi quickly searched for her glasses, reaching out on the floor before her.

"This must be yours." She heard him say. She could tell that he was only a few inches away from the volume of his voice.

She could make out a blurry arm reaching out to her with something red in his hand. The young lady grabbed the blurry red thing and replaced it on her face. Finally, she could see clearly again. She looked up to face whoever she was with and smiled. "Thank you again."

He sighed, and she swore she could see hearts forming in his eyes. "Mellorine!"

The persistent little bastard's name was Sanji.

From what she could recall, he was an exchange student who enrolled during her third year in college. From the look of things, Tashigi could tell that he was from a well-off family. The guy was able to afford an exchange student program, for one. No rocket science in that. And he dressed impeccably like everyday he'd go to meet the prime minister of Japan or something. Even if he wore something casual, it looked like royalty. Tashigi couldn't believe this guy. The first thing that popped in her head was that this guy... was too good to be true. It was... freaky.

Often times she would find Sanji walking by himself around campus. He would offer his company to "such a fine lady like herself"—his words—and accompany her to anywhere she went—the printing stores, the small bookstore inside the campus, and sometimes during lunch time, without any complaints at all. She decided to try and see if she'd hear anything from her junior after a day of academic errands. Tashigi spent an entire day in campus working on her research assignment, with Sanji tagging along. They went from the college library, to the printing store, back to the library to edit something she "failed" to notice while typing ("It's a good thing, Tashigi-chan decided to check her papers before having it printed!" He fawned), off to the printing store again, only to come back to the library because she "left" her bag there, only to "find" that her wallet was with her all along (and not in her bag), so they proceeded to the printing store for the last time. They were on their way to the small bookstore; Sanji walking a step behind her, humming happy tunes about God knew what. Tashigi was beginning to regret this little experiment.

"Sanji-san." She called out, stopping in her tracks and turning around to face him.

"Yes, my lovely lady?" He acknowledged, only this time, he wasn't anywhere near fawning over her.

Tashigi shook her head. "Gosh, you're so dense! Didn't you realize that I was trying to wait for you to complain or something? After all the trouble I set up myself, you're still here, following me around like a lost puppy." She said a little too quickly. "Aren't you tired or something?"

He flashed a weak smile. "You're right, Tashigi-chan. I'm really tired."

"Then why are you even here?" It came out quietly, like she was more curious than mad.

"I just want to be here, with you." He shrugged, feeling his pocket for something and retrieving a cigarette and lighter. "It's that simple, Tashigi-chan."

If it were possible for her to rip all of her hair off, punch her bloody in the face until it bled and swelled, and then shoot herself in the head and let the remains of her brain be run over by cars on the busy streets, Tashigi wouldn't hesitate to do just that. Maybe because it was a foreign feeling or maybe because she really didn't want to admit that for a second there, she swore her heartbeat was deafening and erratic as she looked at Sanji, smoking and smiling like he said a very smart thing.

She hoped that she didn't blush deep red enough for the young man to notice as he walked her home that evening.

That night, Tashigi spent most of the night tossing and turning. Sleep usually claimed her easily everyday with her tight schedule, but even after all the trouble of earlier, she found that she wasn't tired yet or to be more specific, her mind wasn't ready to sleep yet. She would close her eyes every five minutes, but would open them again to rid of the image she was desperately trying to erase since dinner time.

She couldn't believe that this little bastard's persistence even extended to her thoughts. Tashigi repeatedly hit her head weakly on her headboard, hoping it could make things easier for her, but stopped when she realized that doing so was pointless and idiotic. She sat straight on her bed and sighed. She had to keep herself busy in any possible way.

Tashigi considered practicing her forms until she grew weary, but decided not to tire herself to the point of waking up late the next day. She also considered reading more for her research, but it wasn't like whatever she would read tonight would matter the next day. After all, information overload would only result to mental block. Her eyes happened to fall on her desk and saw her stack of unused notebooks. She smiled as a brilliant idea came to her.

And that, dear friends, was how Tashigi started keeping a journal, but of course, that's another story.


	5. Sneaky Little Bastard Makes His Way In

**Chapter Five: Sneaky Little Bastard Slowly Makes His Way In**

The first few times Sanji tried to woo her with sweet treats annoyed her. For one, Tashigi wasn't much of a fan of sweets, and the fact that this little bastard spent money on her made it difficult for her to reject the gifts. She would give them to her teammates or to Smoker when there were a few more treats left. But one time, when she had forgotten to take Sanji's gift out of her bag before kendo practice, Tashigi decided to try one piece and found that it was the best tasting piece of creamy cake she had ever eaten. In the comforts of her bedroom, Tashigi finished all three slices of chocolate mousse, tiramisu, and strawberry cheesecake, something she didn't really expect herself to do. They were addicting! How could anyone blame her? It wasn't too sweet, and the strawberry syrup on the cheesecake didn't taste like melted sugar with artificial strawberry flavour. The cakes melted in her mouth even before she could chew some of them. It felt as if she was a character from _Cooking Master Boy_, crying because the food was incredibly and unbelievably tasty.

Coming into her senses when the last of the cake was consumed, Tashigi's eyes widened when she realized how unappealing she must've looked like diving in for the sweet treats. It was just heavenly, she couldn't help herself! Tashigi dreamt of bouncing up and down Sanji's sweet treats that night.

In the darkest pits of her heart, Tashigi honestly felt bad for Sanji every time she would give his treats away. A part of her heart also couldn't take the lying she had to do every time Sanji would ask if she liked his little present. She would tell him it was good in many ways she could possibly think of, and hoped that he wouldn't see past her white lies—white lies because her teammates and Smoker would always tell her that the treats were satisfying. And they were truly satisfying, she learned not so long ago.

"Well, I liked the tiramisu best." She told him once when he asked her what she thought of his latest gift.

He took a long drag of his cigarette and sighed contentedly after. "I'm glad Tashigi-chan likes my cakes. I made them with love, you know."

The young lady's eyes widened. That little bastard cooked? So he meant to say he cooked every single treat he gave her? Tashigi felt even worse about giving food he spent time on away.

She found out that Sanji could do a lot more than his pretty face let on. Aside from cooking, he was a very fast runner, too. Tashigi learned about that when she looked out her bedroom window and saw him running like crazy from an irate Smoker. She opened her window to call out her guardian, but her yell fell on deaf ears. Later that day, Smoker told her about Sanji's supposedly sweet gesture. The young man decided to surprise her on her way out with a lot of love notes taped on the wall across the unit's door. Unfortunately for the young man, it was Smoker who stepped out first instead of his fair young lady and found the gesture to be infuriating, not romantic.

"You'll always be in my heart, my little blueberry?" Tashigi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at what was supposed to be a sweet note. She could feel bile rising from her stomach.

"What the bloody hell does this mean, Tashigi?" Smoker held out the few notes he was able to snatch away from Sanji as he ran from the angry man. "And 'my little blueberry?' Are you even serious you're dating this sap?"

"I told you, Smoker-san. He's just an enthusiastic... admirer. That's all." She quickly said, reading the rest of the notes that her guardian brought inside. "And my goodness, Smoker-san, Sanji's only a college freshman!"

She could tell he was feeling a little more protective than usual. After all, it was the first time someone had the guts to come to her apartment to 'profess his undying love.' The more she read his love notes, the more she wanted to gouge her eyes out and burn them. She couldn't stop, though. Some of them, the less cheesy ones, were truly endearing.

"If the only thing this guy wants is to get in your pants, I swear I'm gonna pull out my team of officers from the current case we're working on to hunt that punk alive."

That came out a little scary, Tashigi thought, but her guardian sounded dead serious when he said that. She saw him take out another cigar from his jacket and smoked two cigars simultaneously. He was always like that when he was stressed.

She also found out that Sanji was good at kicking. One time, Sanji found her walking by herself to the university food center when, after a few strides, he gracefully leaped and kicked an incoming soccer ball away from them. She gaped, the whole soccer team gaped, and Sanji didn't seem to be fazed by his unusual action. Who the hell would dodge an attack like that when the most normal thing to do was to duck or get hit on the head? Sanji quickly became popular with the soccer team after that. They followed him everywhere he went—in class, on his way home, and even on the way to school (much to Sanji's dismay. Why couldn't he be followed around by a bunch of ladies instead? He told her once) to convince him to join the team.

"Tashigi-san! We need you!"

She turned round to where she thought she heard the voice came from and saw the obnoxious, unnaturally large and bulky captain of the soccer team, Duval.

"Oh, Duval-san." She said, nodding. "Why do you need me anyway?"

He winked at the young lady, making her cringe, before replying. "We need you to convince Sanji to join our team. He'll be such a great asset!"

"Can't you convince him yourself?"

"If we could, you think I'd be asking you to do it for us instead?"

Tashigi flatly said no. Duval was exaggeratedly devastated, kneeling before her with tears streaming down his face. She told them that if Sanji wanted to join the team, he would come to them on his own accord.

"You know, Duval-san came to me earlier." She said after sipping some broth from her lunch. "He wanted me to convince you to join the soccer team."

The young man only stared at his lunch and smiled weakly. "I used to play soccer in middle school, you know."

"If you did, then why don't you play again? It's pretty obvious that the soccer team is determined to get you in before inter-school tournament begins." She turned behind her and saw the whole soccer team sitting a few tables behind them in the cafeteria, looking at them as if willing Sanji to change his mind. Duval looked at them intently, almost burning holes behind her back as he ate his lunch without bothering to look at how messy he was from not watching where his food went. "They've been staring at us since we started eating lunch. I could feel their stares go past me!"

"Soccer reminds me so much of home." He mumbled. He finished chewing the rest of his food before continuing. "Soccer reminds me of Zeff."

She looked up from eating. "Who's Zeff?"

"My adoptive father," he replied, wiping the sides of his mouth like the gentleman that he was. "He was a soccer coach so naturally, soccer quickly became our bonding time."

"Well, if it was your bonding time and if it reminds you of home, why don't you want to do it? Isn't it nice to be reminded of happy things like home or your father?"

Sanji only smiled wistfully at her.

As much as she was curious about the relationship between Sanji, his adoptive father, and soccer, Tashigi decided not to press on with the matter. Whenever she was reminded of the wistfulness that his smile carried when she asked, she would berate herself for maybe striking the wrong chord that afternoon. What if his adoptive father was actually dead? Or what if he was an abusive parent and every time he would kick a ball or something, he would be reminded of the physical abuse this Zeff guy inflicted on his little middle school body.

It couldn't be that horrible, could it?

After a few days, Sanji came to her, skipping and humming some made up song she couldn't decipher. It was really nice to see him back to his old cheery self when he was around her that she couldn't help but smile at the ridiculous sight.

"Tashigi-chan, my lovely lady!" He greeted, twirling around her. "I have something to tell you!"

She nodded for him to go on. Just what made this guy extremely cheery today?

"I've decided to join the soccer team, but only for this school year." He turned from a happy, prancing idiot to a serious gentleman in an instant. "I've talked to Zeff about it."

So Zeff wasn't dead yet. Tashigi mentally crossed out 'His adoptive father is dead' reason in her list of possible reasons why Sanji was a little iffy about joining the soccer team. She smiled. "That's good then!"

"I'll start joining them tomorrow. In the meantime, why don't I join you this lovely afternoon? Where are you heading, my sweet?"

The young lady hoped that Sanji didn't notice her nose crinkling a bit at his endearment. "Uh, I'm on my way to kendo practice, actually." She actually didn't want him to know where she was going, but before she could even stop herself, the words left her mouth. "It might bore you, you know. Wooden swords and smelly room that could pass as a dojo—I'm not sure if that's even you're thing."

Sanji raised an eyebrow. "Nonsense! As long as Tashigi-chan is in my sight, kendo wouldn't be a boring thing to watch!"

Yup, this kid was back to his old self again.

Her teammates immediately liked Sanji because, well... he was Sanji. Tashigi noticed that he didn't show much blatant admiration to her lady friends except for her. Perhaps none of them were his type? Even so, he was very polite with Lola, Mozu, and Kiwi, much to their delight. He didn't really mind the twins' obvious interest with him, and he courteously refused every single proposal that Lola offered without a hint of annoyance in his tone. Plus he even helped them heave the dummies from the storage, telling them that ladies were meant to be served and that real men (like him, of course) should always be ready to serve. This delighted her teammates even more. They giggled every time he would offer to get something and whenever he was there to break Tashigi's falls. Tashigi learned something new today: that he wasn't only chivalrous; he was _extremely _chivalrous. It unsettled her.

He insisted he walk her home, which she argued to be a bad idea since her guardian would probably shoot him dead or something if he saw him accompanying her. But this bastard of a freshman wouldn't budge, so she eventually gave up, sighed, and allowed him to be 'her knight in shining armour' that evening.

"You know, Sanji. You don't have to do everything for me." She said, breaking the companionable silence between them as they walked along the somewhat busy street going to her apartment.

He turned a bit to face her, smiling weakly. "I know."

"Then why do you even bother?"

Sanji stopped in his tracks, an arm's length separating them as he faced his senior. "Haven't we had a talk similar to this?"

Tashigi searched her thoughts for a specific memory and shook her head in disbelief. "Good lord, Sanji, don't tell me—"

"It's exactly what you're thinking." He grinned, making him look younger than he was. "I don't _have_ to, but I _want _to. See the difference there?"

The young lady wanted to punch herself in the face when something dawned on her: she might be a little fond of this sneaky little bastard, after all.

* * *

I wrote this story not so long ago, while procrastinating during the last stretch of my semester, so most of the plot is pretty much laid out. Upon revising, though, it seemed to have taken a life of its own. For those reading this because of ZoTash, I'll make you wait a few more chapters before Zoro and Tashigi meet, I'm sorry.

To the one who reviewed as guest, thank you for your kind words. :) There are other stories here in this section that are truly well-written and nice, so for this story to be complimented makes me feel all fuzzy inside. Actually, to anyone who finds this story nice, thank you!

And to those who are following this, thank you for taking some time to read this. Until the next update. :D


	6. Denial's a Tough Game

**Chapter Six: Denial's A Tough Game**

Sanji wasn't really the sole reason why Tashigi suddenly had an interest on watching the soccer team when she had time, but he sure looked dashing even when practicing. It was like everything he did become classy, and soccer wasn't exactly a classy game. When it rained, things get messy, literally. But if that guy was there, muddy didn't look gross anymore. It even looked good at times, mud, dirt, and all. Good lord, this guy was freaky. And if that weren't freaky enough, his eyebrow seemed to curl at the end, which she only noticed when she looked at him intently one time. Really now, who would have shaped brows like that?

That oddity aside, Tashigi wouldn't deny that he was good-looking. The best looking student she had ever laid eyes on in school, in fact.

That didn't go unnoticed by the school population, especially now that he was part of the soccer team. His popularity didn't change him, though (thank God, Tashigi thought one time). He was still the dork that he was when Tashigi was around. For a moment there, she didn't know if she would be happy that he was still grounded or if she would freak out at his adamant admiration of her, as if she was the only girl in the campus.

For the first time in her late teens, Tashigi wondered if she were pretty enough for a pretty boy like Sanji to notice. Looking at the girls in the campus, she wouldn't deny that a lot of them were prettier, more voluptuous, edgier, and more interesting than her. She looked in front of the mirror one night, in the comforts of her bathroom, and stared at her reflection for a while. Tashigi frowned.

She couldn't find anything special, but most girls thought that way most of the time. Her hair was always tied in a messy bun, and it wasn't even shiny or smooth. Her eye bags were slowly becoming noticeable because of too much research. Her glasses made her look even nerdier than she truly was, and nerdy wasn't exactly what most people found attractive. And every time she would be standing beside Sanji, she would feel a little ashamed that the guy had better sense in fashion than her. And if that wasn't the icing on top of the cake, Tashigi's interests were mostly masculine. She wasn't special at all.

So why would Sanji want to smother her with his princely presence?

"You're lovely the way you are, Tashigi-chan." He would always tell her. And deep inside her, she wished she could easily believe him.

She almost believed that her junior was a saint for putting up with such an unusual girl as she was. Sanji had one taint in his record, however; he was a natural flirt. It was something she noticed earlier but only surfaced so much since she was almost always there wherever he was. Even without trying, he seemed to draw people to him. There was a time when Tashigi believed that a good number of the school's male population were secretly enamoured by him, masking it with envy. Sanji was tall, and a dream boat, whatever that was. And he rocked any kind of outfit he donned. He was out to capture hearts of young maidens (mostly ladies his age) and always played the role of a chivalrous prince, ready to jump when the need arose. Some ladies found his acts fine, some would be touched, some were indifferent, and Tashigi... still had no idea whether she'd be happy or annoyed that she was mostly the receiving end of his princely act.

Tashigi didn't want to admit it openly or even to herself that there was a tinge of... some foreign feeling she wasn't really used to feeling every time Sanji would try to please other girls. She couldn't really pinpoint what that was so she mostly shrugged it off. There were times when she would think that maybe she was just another girl to Sanji. She'd immediately slap herself mentally the moment she realized she let that kind of thought inside her head. She couldn't afford to be thinking about boys when her top priority right now is her academics. That was what she was in college for, right? Not to chase boys. And especially not to chase a boy named Sanji.

But a character like him was really hard to shake off. She didn't have to do any chasing. The guy chased her even when she wasn't running.

Oh what the heck, Tashigi thought.

It had been customary for the young man to wait for her to finish her last class of the day so that he could accompany her to the gym just to make sure that "his lovely lady would get to kendo practice without a scratch," or something akin to what dads would tell their young daughters whenever they brought them to places. There were times when Tashigi wanted to tell him that he really didn't have to do the things he did for her, but then she'd remember the last time they talked about it. Sure, he didn't _have_ to, but he made it clear that he _wanted _to. Besides, it was quite nice to have some company on the way to the gym since Mozu, Kiwi, and Lola all come from different buildings. It made the short walk a little less lonely.

"That pretty blonde must really like you so much to always be with you most of the time." Kiwi whispered to her one time during training. It wasn't their turn to spar yet so they were at one corner of the room.

It took Tashigi a while to identify who that pretty blonde was before responding. "Oh, you mean, Sanji? He's just a really enthusiastic admirer. That's all."

Kiwi snorted. "Enthusiastic admirer? More like a suitor! Admirers only leave presents and little to no clues of their identity. Suitors always put their best foot forward, you should know that."

How would she know about that? She was never once courted or courted anybody before.

"But I gotta hand it to you, Tashigi-sis. You're really _that _attractive to be able to snag a guy much younger than you are! C'mon, spill your secrets. I want them all!"

Tashigi wanted to vomit at what was supposed to be Kiwi's compliment. And besides, Sanji wasn't really _much _younger than her. He was only two years younger. Suddenly, she felt so bad about herself. Like she was a cradle snatching. It wasn't her fault if Sanji preferred older women. She couldn't even understand why he was all over her in the first place.

The girls went out to dinner after training. Sanji wasn't there to wait for her, much to her relief. Finally some time without her junior, though as much as she wanted to believe that she wasn't affected by his absence, somehow she wasn't used to a Sanji-less walk. Tashigi shook her head to get rid of her thoughts and kept walking with her teammates to a nearby cafe.

They settled on the seat nearest to the window with Lola and Mozu sitting across Kiwi and Tashigi, and proceeded ordering their dinner. Lola immediately took out her notes to review for her research class, earning some 'really, Lola-sis, really?' from the twins. She only watched them from her seat, tired to even join the banter because of training. She noticed that the twins diverted their attention to her, a sly smile etched on their faces.

"So, Tashigi-sis, what are you and Sanji-bro really?"

"Who initiated?"

"How far have you two gotten? First base, secon—"

Tashigi put her hand up, seeing where this conversation would lead to. "Woah, hold it right there, Mozu. We're not together, and we haven't gotten anywhere, thank you very much." Even if she couldn't see herself that moment, she knew she was blushing beet red. What was with this conversation all of a sudden?

"C'mon now, you don't have to be so shy around us. We're practically your friends now. We're like... family!" Kiwi candidly grabbed her shoulder to give her a side hug.

"We're not gonna judge you, you know!" Mozu nudged Tashigi's arm playfully.

She sighed exasperatedly. "I told you a number of times already that Sanji and I aren't together!"

Kiwi raised an eyebrow. "Then are you best friends, at least?"

"No. We only met this year."

Mozu puckered her lips. "Dating?"

Tashigi shook her head. "Don't think so. But if you consider eating lunch together at the school food center as a date... no, I don't think so."

"Good lord, make up your bloody minds! Are you guys just fooling yourselves or something? You're not in high school anymore." Mozu's tone almost scared the few customers inside the cafe. The keyword here was almost.

"I really don't know what to tell you, guys. I mean, there wasn't any formal courtship thing whatever. He was just there. And, and—I don't know." She stuttered like she always did whenever she didn't know what to say or how to react properly.

From Tashigi's peripheral vision, she saw Lola closing her notes and looking at them calmly. She cleared her throat.

"Do you like that Sanji kid?" Lola asked out of nowhere.

"I... don't really know," was all Tashigi could reply.

But my lord, she knew she was beginning to. The young lady inwardly cursed herself for even being part of this conversation. Anything that had to do with feelings made her feel awkward since she wasn't really used to expressing things out openly. Heck, she wasn't even really that emotional. Until that Sanji bastard came along, that is, she added in her thoughts.

She found herself not being able to sleep soundly that night. She was preoccupied, and for the first time, it wasn't about how bleak her future seemed or if she would even graduate on time or hand a kickass thesis to her panel. Musing about feelings kept her more awake than thinking about what research design would be more suitable by the time the college administration would give her proposal a go. That was something new.

Tashigi tossed for the nth time that night as she tried to still her reeling thoughts. How do you deal with feelings and how do you process them by yourself? For a moment, she thought that it would be nice to have an older woman help her sort her thoughts out, but the idea of even opening up about a guy made her feel a little weird. Perhaps she was beginning to grow?

After the tenth time of telling herself that she wasn't charmed by her junior, she found herself unconvinced and frustrated at how difficult it was for someone as strong-willed as her to make herself believe that she really wasn't _crazily in love _(eew, she cringed at the words) or emotionally-attachedwith Sanji. She heaved a sigh, muffled by her pillow, and decided to throw the white flag.

Oh, what the heck.

But of course, nobody but herself and the stuff inside her room knew about her deep, dark secret. And it would stay that way for as long as she wanted to.

In the morning, she said to herself, she would go about the day, acting like she hadn't come to terms with her feelings that night. Tashigi adjusted her blanket, covering half of her face as sleep finally came to her.

* * *

Really quick update because summer semester hasn't started yet, and like I said, the plot's pretty much laid out so all I needed to do was do a bit of editing and hope for the best that the story is still somehow coherent. I hope. Really sorry for the lack of ZoTash even though the summary states something about Zoro and Tashigi (not SanTash or anything), but you won't really have to wait that long because Zoro will make his debut in this story in a short while!

I'm hoping I'd be able to finish this story before regular semester comes. Thank you for reading and reviewing! :D


	7. The Wind Changed Its Course Suddenly

**Chapter Seven: The Wind Changed Its Course Suddenly**

They weren't exactly dating or going out or a couple or whatever else people would want to label them, but she knew that there was something. She didn't want to hastily call it love, but there was no doubt that she felt an attraction to him (not that she'd tell anyone the truth, really), though it wasn't physical attraction. In fact, she didn't feel anything sexual for her junior, and if she did she wouldn't jump the chance to bang him senseless even if she knew that he would let her do as she wished. Tashigi wasn't like that, but she also liked to think she wasn't a prude. She just didn't find humping people casually appealing, especially humping someone she had no assurance would be there for a long time. Sanji was an exchange student, remember?

During the first few times Sanji waited for her outside her classroom, she wanted the ground to swallow her up because he would always greet her in the most elaborate ways as possible. There would be flowers and a bento, which he made, and sang so much pleasantries, she wished she had her guardian's gun to shoot herself. Her classmates would cheer, making her want to die a double death, if that were possible. Had people died from embarrassment? She wondered one time.

The twenty-first time he waited, Tashigi didn't want to admit that she had gotten used to it. Same old routine every afternoon: fancy gifts, a bento, and a new set of pleasantries she wasn't sure where he got them from.

In fact, she had gotten used to it that the first time he didn't show up, it worried her. Of course, being the stubborn girl that she was, she hated to admit that she couldn't put her mind at ease when she didn't even see him during their soccer practice. Even though he was reluctant to join the varsity at first, he never once missed practice.

Something smelled funny.

The next day, he still didn't show up. This time, even her classmates were worried. The professor who usually killed all the warm and fuzzy atmosphere couldn't help but notice the absence of 'that weird French exchange student who always had elaborate displays of affection,' as he identified him. Tashigi couldn't say anything because she had no idea what happened to Sanji. Did anything even happen to him at all?

Call her insane or paranoid, but the fact that she hadn't seen a glimpse of his sunshine-y gold locks or heard something from him for quite some time now made her consider every possibility she could think of to come up with a good reason for his sudden absence. He could've been hit by a bus and had a lot of broken bones, which would explain why he hadn't contacted anybody yet. But that would be silly; Sanji wasn't that reckless to cross the street aimlessly, and besides, only a really dumb driver would miss his standout locks even at night. She even went as far as considering a possible kidnapping case with her junior being loaded and all. Maybe he was actually from a royal lineage, but since he wanted to 'live life normally,' he had to keep mum about his real self. After all, princes weren't really _that _free to 'live life normally' having some classy reputation to uphold. But that one was silly, too. If he were a prince, why would he even bother going to the school they were in now when it couldn't even match up with the standards of _Kyoto_ or _Toudai_?

She hated how she actually tried to make up some excuse for her junior's departure to soothe her burning curiosity. Tashigi tried to be discreet about looking for sealed envelopes with heart stickers on it (Sanji's love notes, obviously) in the hopes of getting a clue on his disappearance. She even walked up to Duval one time and asked if he knew anything about Sanji recently. HeHe had no idea either.

When almost a month passed and he still didn't show up or even made himself felt through every way possible, she wasn't only worried; she was mad. She wasn't going to deny that. She was so mad that the mere thought of Sanji angered her. She amazingly beat half of the men's kendo team during one of their joint practices and even destroyed two kendo sticks while training on the wooden dummy. Tashigi only snapped back to reality when she heard her coach groan. She hit him too hard on the head with her _bokken_, she found out when she saw him nursing his quickly reddening forehead.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Koshiro-sensei!" She threw her wooden sword on the side and ran to her coach. "I wasn't paying attention. I'm so sorry!" Tashigi knelt, her face almost touching the ground and blushing from embarrassment. She could feel the stares of the other members on her back.

Kendo practice left her abashed the rest of the training. Everyone was aware of her clumsiness, but her rare display of awkwardness with the very thing she was good at placed a deep concern in every kendo varsity member who witnessed her series of falls, too-strong hits, and aimless swinging. Nobody really had the heart to ask her the obvious question in fear of stirring up something.

Koshiro-sensei offered to walk her home that evening. She wanted to refuse his offer because of what happened earlier, but her coach insisted that she be walked home lest she drifted off the street without being mindful of passing cars. After all, she was more absent-minded today than the other days.

"You're not yourself, Tashigi-san." He didn't say this to confirm his hunch. He knew it already.

It took a whole minute before the young lady responded. "You're right, Koshiro-sensei."

He smiled gently. "What is this that got you worked up in training earlier?"

If this weren't Koshiro-sensei, she would've punched the guy squarely on his nose for reminding her of why she was even mad. Tashigi mulled for a moment before she opened her mouth and talked about the French kid who always stayed after training to wait for her and bring her home, and how all of a sudden she couldn't find any trace of him anywhere, which angered her for some reason. She also talked about how scared she was of the giddy feelings that came whenever the sneaky bastard was around. At some point in her babbling, Tashigi felt her eyes water. Shortly, her tears fell like water trickling down a full bucket. Perhaps if she were in her right mind, she would've slapped herself silly for snivelling in public over something petty like a guy, but the feeling of wanting to cry was stronger.

"It's okay, Koshiro-sensei. I might really blow my nose using your handkerchief." She waved a hand when her coach handed her his handkerchief. Deep inside though, she really wanted to take it because her nose was beginning to get runny. She used the back of her palm instead.

"This is crazy. I used to think that people who cry over other people are messed up, but look at me. I'm just as messed up, too." She went on rambling. "Does..." Tashigi cringed before opening her mouth again. "Does love hurt this much, Koshiro-sensei?"

"So you're saying you love this Sanji kid?"

She shrugged. "I guess. Why would I even give this much thought anyway? And there're those giddy feelings I told you earlier. People are supposed to feel that way when they're _in love, _right?"

Her coach only smiled at her. "You're a very naive young lady, Tashigi-san."

It was one of those nights of tossing and turning once more. Her bed sheets were ruffled and her body was tangled with her blanket. She kept on thinking about what her coach told her on their way home. She could even hear him say it like he was there, which was creepy if given much thought. Tashigi turned for the nth time and looked at the night sky over her window. The night sky was rather empty, much like how much she wanted her head to be. Normally, the thoughts that kept her awake were mostly academic-related stuff. This was the first time she was so distracted not by life crises or school requirements, but by a sneaky bastard named Sanji.

She swore to the universe that if she would see her junior one of these days, she would hit him so hard in his family jewels with her _bokken_.

Three days later, Smoker handed her an envelope he got from the front desk on his way to their unit. Tashigi gave it a puzzled look and saw that the letter was from the little sneaky bastard she just swore to hit a few nights ago. And it seemed that the letter got lost along the way until finally ending up to the right addressee.

She skipped an awful lot of his neat handwriting, quickly dismissing the first few paragraphs as his confession of his undying devotion for her, and found what she had been looking for. She continued reading.

"_I'm sorry I wasn't able to say goodbye formally, and I'm sorry for not telling you any sooner because I had gotten busy as soon as I set foot back in my homeland." _

Oh good lord, she could hear Sanji in her head as she continued reading.

"_I just knew I had to catch the soonest flight back to France upon receiving a message from one of our good friends that Zeff had been confined due to some viral infection. I really thought the shitty geezer would never see the light of day considering his age and how much he spends time working instead of resting, which leads me to telling you that I won't be back until the end of summer semester. I already filed my leave of absence, if you're even worried about that. While Zeff is busy recuperating, I'll take charge of our business in the meantime. It'll also take a while to pay the bills, so I need to take care of that, too. Don't worry, my sweet angel, I'll be back like I said. Until then, let's see each other in our dreams!_

_Your prince forever,_

_Sanji."_

Tashigi could only shake her head as she dropped the letter on the dining table. She glared at it and uncharacteristically yelled, "What the hell, Sanji! You could've just emailed me or something!"

Smoker only chuckled at the young lady.


End file.
